Flame-retardant camouflage material for military applications

ABSTRACT

The material of the present invention is a camouflage printed flame retardant material utilizing the F. R. Camouflage Printing, exclusive to the Canadian armed forces which printing exhibits an infra-red reflectance. The camouflage material may comprise staple-length fibers, continuous filaments or yarns, tapes, and the combinations thereof. Further, the material may comprise one or more layers of similar or dissimilar substrates, such as wovens, nonwovens, knits, twills, felts, fleece, and films.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to a camouflage printed flame retardant material, and more specifically relates to a camouflage printed flame retardant material utilizing the F. R. Camouflage Printing, which also exhibits an infra-red reflectance and suitable for military applications, such as personnel uniforms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Camouflage materials are routinely used in military applications whereby there is a desire to obscure and protect an object or military personnel from immediate recognition. Colors and patterns of color are often imparted into a material by using yarns of various colors, resulting from the dyeing of the yarn packages themselves. Further, greige goods, yardage produced from undyed yarns, can be dyed in any of several ways common to the industry, such as jet dyeing, and vat dyeing. For application of color and patterns of colors onto the surface of a fabric, screen-printing is commonly used, whereby pigments are applied to the fabrics by a series of engraved rolls where each roll applies a specific color and part of the pattern.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a camouflage printed flame retardant material utilizing the CADPAT camouflage print (hereinafter referred to as F. R. Camouflage Printing), which also exhibits an infra-red reflectance and suitable for military applications, such as personnel uniforms, as well as other military issued protective garments and gear. According to the present invention, the aforementioned camouflage material may be a single or multi-layer material, wherein such layer(s) may comprise one or more woven layers, knits, twills, felts, fleece, nonwovens, and the combinations thereof.

The material of the present invention exhibits infra-red reflectance characteristics, as well as flame retardancy and may employee one or more flame retardant fibers, wherein suitable fibers may include, but are not limited to aramids, polyamides-imides, and modacrylics, such as Nomex and/or Keviar, registered trademarks of DuPont; Basofil, a registered trademark of Basofil Fibers, LLC.; Twaron, a registered trademark of Enka B.V. Corporation; PBX, a registered trademark to Kaneka, Technora and/or Conex, registered trademarks of Teijin; PBX, flame retardant cellulosic fibers, and the combinations thereof. In addition, the material is printed with the F. R. Camouflage Printing utilized exclusively by the Canadian armed forces.

It is also in the purview of the present invention that the material may be of a laminate structure, comprising a film or alternate coating, which will provide adequate protection against chemical and biological combat. The material of the present invention can be used for various military applications, including uniforms, tarpaulins, tents, cargo and truck bed covers.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will hereinafter be described, a presently preferred embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.

The material of the present invention is a camouflage printed flame retardant material utilizing the F. R. Camouflage Printing, exclusive to the Canadian armed forces which printing exhibits an infra-red reflectance. The camouflage material may comprise staple-length fibers, continuous filaments or yarns, tapes, and the combinations thereof. Further, the material may comprise one or more layers of similar or dissimilar substrates, such as wovens, nonwovens, knits, twills, felts, fleece, and films.

In accordance with the present invention, a woven fabric comprised of yarns, fibers, and/or tapes are designated for specific use as warp or fill yarns. The fill yarns, tapes, or fiber packages (which run in the cross direction and are known as picks) are taken straight to the loom for weaving. The warp yarns (which run on in the machine direction and are known as ends) must be further processed. The packages of warp yarns are used to build a warp beam. Here the packages are placed onto a warper or beamer, which feeds multiple yarn ends onto the beam in a parallel array. The beam is then mounted onto the back of the loom. Here the warp and fill yarns, tapes, and/or fibers are interwoven to produce yardage of fabric.

One or more layers may comprise a knit or twill material. Suitable knitted materials may include those materials described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,056,686, U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,773, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,485, herein incorporated by reference. While suitable twill weave materials may include those materials described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,928,160 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,826, also incorporated herein by reference, as well as broken twill weaves and unbalance twill weaves.

Nonwoven fabrics may be utilized along with knitted and woven materials or in place of woven materials. Nonwoven fabrics are formed of one or more fibrous or filamentary batts which are subsequently consolidated by one or more of several well known chemical or mechanical bonding techniques. Exemplary nonwoven fabrics are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,706, U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,203, U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,379, U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,017, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,159, incorporated herein by reference. Suitable nonwoven fabrics also include those that are apertured, embossed, or three-dimensionally imaged.

The camouflage material of the present invention exhibits flame retardancy and infra-red reflectance. Infra-red reflectance can be imparted to the fabric of the present invention in accordance with known techniques by application of a carbon-black component to the fabric during finishing, subsequent to dyeing and printing. See Canadian Patent No. 1,605,261, Application No. 50623/77, hereby incorporated by reference. Flame retardant fibers that may be utilized in whole or in part include para- and meta-aramids, polyamides-imides, and modacrylics. In addition to the flame retardant fibers, other suitable fibers may include synthetic fibers, such as polyesters, polyolefins, polyamides, and the combinations thereof. Such fibers may comprise homogeneous, bi-component, and/or multi-component profiles. Natural fibers may be incorporated as well and may include rayon, cotton, wood pulp, hemp, flax, and the combinations thereof.

Further, various films may be utilized in combination with one or more dissimilar substrates. The formation of finite thickness films from thermoplastic polymers, suitable as a strong and durable substrate layer, is a well-known practice. Thermoplastic polymer films can be formed by either dispersion of a quantity of molten polymer into a mold having the dimensions of the desired end product, known as a cast film, or by continuously forcing the molten polymer through a die, known as an extruded film. Extruded thermoplastic polymer films can either be formed such that the film is cooled then wound as a completed material, or dispensed directly onto a secondary substrate material to form a composite material having performance of both the substrate and the film layers. The film may optionally be treated so as to protect against chemical and/or biological warfare.

In accordance with the present invention, the F. R. Camouflage Printing material may be utilized for various military applications, including issued garments, specifically uniforms, tarpaulins, tents, blankets, cargo and truck bed covers. Any specific end-use applications may comprise one or more specific aesthetic or performance enhancing additives, wherein such additives may be internal and/or external. Further, it has been contemplated that the fibrous components of the material or the finished fibrous product may comprise one or more additives that adequately protect against chemical and biological combat.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be affected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concept of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover, by the appended claims, all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims. 

1. A flame retardant material for military applications comprising the F. R. Camouflage Printing and infra-red reflectance.
 2. A material as in claim 1, wherein said material is a single layer.
 3. A material as in claim 1, wherein said material is multi-layered.
 4. A material as in claim 1, wherein said material is a garment.
 5. A material as in claim 1, wherein said material is a tarpaulin.
 6. A material as in claim 1, wherein said material is a tent.
 7. A flame retardant material for military uniforms comprising the F. R. Camouflage Printing and infra-red reflectance. 